The Hindu Business Line : Ministry concern over untapped mineral wealth

New Delhi, July 27 The Mines Ministry has expressed concern over the lack of utilisation of information provided by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) to various States.

“During a meeting with the officials of GSI and Indian Bureau of Mines, it was brought to the notice of the Ministry that States were not utilising the information provided by the two organisations on the availability of mineral wealth in their respective States. So it was decided that every quarter the Indian Bureau of Mines would monitor the progress on the discoveries made by the GSI,” Dr T. Subbarami Reddy, Minister of State for Mines, told Business Line.

According to him, because of the lack of co-ordination between the three parties a lot of mineral wealth remains untapped.

Gold, diamond reserves

The Ministry has also decided that in the future GSI should focus on finding gold and diamond reserves. “The Ministry has identified seven to eight States where we think there are gold and diamond reserves and have instructed the GSI to give top priority to find where the reserves are located in each of the States,” Dr Reddy said.

According to estimates, India imports about 800 tonnes of gold worth Rs 55,000 crore every year, only because the reserves have not adequately been explored. According to estimates, the country’s gold reserves are worth Rs 6,00,000 crore and diamonds to the tune of 475 million carats.

Pvt cos progress

“The Ministry would also be monitoring the progress made by private companies with regard to the leases given for mining gold and diamonds. If we feel no substantial progress has been made, the leases would be recommended for cancellation,” Dr Reddy said.

The Ministry is also looking at upgrading the Indian Bureau of Mines’ Web site on a real-time basis so that it would help companies get information faster.